Getting the Most from a Resume Database

A wise, former boss once told me, "You should always know the next person you are hiring before you need them." Great advice, but considered impractical by many in this era of specialization. Most hiring managers would agree that finding qualified candidates is time consuming enough when you have an urgent need, never mind when you don't.

Often overlooked as a primary recruiting tool (since most companies tend to advertise first), a top-rate resume database can present you with several qualified candidates in an instant. Here are some tricks on how to navigate them without getting overwhelmed:

Websites like Craigslist.org invite job seekers to post resumes, and although there are many resumes, the quality is often suspect. As great and free as those sites are, data mining activities and scams run rampant on these unrestricted sites. Be careful not to inadvertently expose yourself or your company. The best job boards tend to have the best resumes.

Many hiring managers tell me they only want to search the newest resumes, and ignore those that are more than a few weeks old. Passive job seekers - those candidates, who may be currently employed but are "passively" searching, may only update their resume once a year. That passive candidate may be your next great hire. Why limit your candidate options?

A job title like "Project Manager" has a very different meaning in construction than it does in IT, for example, and can be unproductive and maddening to search. The resume database is the ideal tool to uncover candidates with the exact skills you need. Instead of searching by job title, try a skill like CDL, SQL, bilingual, Spanish, public speaking, Photoshop, etc. and you may find your qualified candidate is ready and available to you from somewhere unexpected.

There is a lot of distraction on the Internet, and job seekers (like employers) often become overwhelmed with irrelevant inquiries and easily lose things or become confused. When contacting a potential great candidate, provide clear details about you and the opportunity, and don't be afraid to follow-up a second time if they don't get back to you. Don't assume you are being ignored.